"When you take a risk like that, there is more pressure on the top order" - Aakash Chopra says Sanju Samson is '24-carat pure gold'

Aakash Chopra has picked Sanju Samson as his Player of the Match for Tuesday's IPL 2022 encounter between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Samson scored a belligerent 55 off just 27 deliveries in last night's game. His knock helped the Royals post a massive score of 210/6 and they went on to win the encounter by 61 runs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the Rajasthan Royals went into the encounter with not much depth in the batting department. He explained:

"My Player of the Match, I am going with Sanju Samson for the simple reason that you are playing fewer batters. There are only six batters and then your proper bowling starts - Nathan Coulter-Nile with Ashwin and then Chahal and two fast bowlers. When you take a risk like that, there is more pressure on the top order."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Royals lost their two openers after an explosive start. Chopra elaborated:

"Buttler gave you a good start, Yashasvi Jaiswal was there with him, he also played well till the time he was there. After that, Sanju Samson comes and then Buttler also gets out, Yashasvi had already gotten out."

Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal strung together a 58-run opening-wicket partnership in just six overs. However, both set batters were dismissed within the space of a couple of overs, leaving it to Samson and Devdutt Padikkal to rebuild their innings.

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"What a guy he is" - Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson's explosive knock

Sanju Samson struck three fours and five sixes during his knock [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Samson opted not to take a conservative approach despite the loss of two quick wickets. He observed:

"Devdutt Padikkal was there with him (Samson). Now what do you do? Do you want to give yourself time, that you will play for some more time, play long so that you will explode at the end. Nah nah nah, what a guy he is. When he bats, 24-carat pure gold."

The 44-year-old expressed hope that the Rajasthan Royals skipper will get more chances to showcase his talent at the international level. Chopra stated:

"Sanju Samson is in a different league when he bats the way he does or the way he batted yesterday. When you see him play, your heart says that he should get more opportunities. But this season is going to be very important for Sanju."

While acknowledging that the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal could have also been in contention for the Player of the Match award, Aakash Chopra concluded by pointing out that it was Samson's innings that made the telling difference in the encounter.

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